Sonadow Shorts
by Janthyra
Summary: A collection of shorts, drabbles and silly ideas about Sonic and Shadow and their, er, adventures. Sonadow, obviously.
1. Caught up

Right, soo… Most people aim to write long, deep stories full of meaning. My head, however, appears to be filled only with stupid Sonadow shorts ideas. May as well get them out of my head, I guess…We'll see how long the ideas keep coming and how large this ends up being, I have no idea myself. Rather than post a bunch of separate stories I'll do them as chapters in a single story from here on, unless they end up being part of something bigger. Each chapter is intended to be possible to read independently, there is no strict chronology either but I suppose this first chapter could be considered a loose continuation of Bad Fur Day, and we'll see how it goes from here.

Oh, and yeah, our dear hedgehogs are already together in these. There are countless stories of how they get together, to the point I'm not really motivated to write my own version. So, you know, pick your favourite falling-in-love story and pretend we're going from there lol.

* * *

**Short 1: Caught up**

Treasure hunting can be a very, very tedious activity. Hours of painstakingly studying maps, travelling, searching, digging, going over a large area with a fine-toothed comb… It's truly a job only for the most dedicated in most instances.

On the other hand, if your search team consists of two supersonic hedgehogs, each with a built in chaos energy radar, it's a different story all together.

A feral squirrel barely avoided an untimely death by trampling as Sonic leaped over it. He took the opportunity to use his momentum to jump to a series of large boulders sprawled in the deep green moss ahead of him. Hopping from stone to stone, he stopped at the largest one, turning his gaze to his left with a beaming smile.

"Any second now!"

Barely offering a glance as a response, Shadow kept going forward. His readings were strong – Sonic was right. The emerald was up ahead.

The artificial hedgehog had, of course, been gifted with a strong sensitivity towards Chaos energy from the beginning. All part of the plan during his creation. Truth be told, there was probably no one on the planet – as far as he knew, anyway – who could use it like he could. The chaotic energy flowed through him like a river. After rigorous training in his early days he had learnt to use it for his own purposes, as nourishment for his mind and body, to energize his jet skates and of course, to use it in the form of powerful energy-based weapons. No one who had faced one of Shadow's Chaos blasts was likely to forget about it any time soon.

Through focusing his mind on the characteristic aura, Shadow was able to track the Chaos emeralds as well. He may not be able to pinpoint their precise location, especially if they were far away, but if one was anywhere nearby, he'd know it.

The very much non-artificial Sonic, on the other hand, wasn't doing too poorly in that department either. His exposure to the Chaos emeralds for so long had left its marks and he too was attuned to their energy. In his case it was more of a vague feeling and not a sharp reading like that of Shadow, never mind Knuckles when searching for his beloved Master emerald, but what he lacked in precision, he more than made up for with his dedication and tenacity during his searches.

In fact, after using the emeralds so many times – especially after going Super on multiple occasions – Sonic now harboured a faint but constant Chaos energy flow of his own in his body. He wasn't really aware of it himself, couldn't feel it unless he was using the Emeralds anyway, but Shadow and Knuckles could both sense it in him. Not that they had told him about it. Both of them found it quite handy indeed to be able to know the hedgehog's general presence whenever he wasn't too far away. Shadow in particular enjoyed being able to sneak up on him when Sonic thought he was alone – the blue hedgehog still not certain just exactly how he always seemed to know where he was - and being quite annoyed about it whenever Shadow used it to his advantage.

As a result of their Chaos-related qualities, Shadow and Sonic were doing well enough at their current treasure hunting task - tracking down the red emerald, hidden somewhere in a vast, northern forest, not far from the borders of Holoska. Firs and pines stretched endlessly around them, the great green carpet broken only by vast mountains in the distance, snow-clad tips glinting in the faint sunlight.

It was a pretty typical emerald hunt. For being one of theirs, anyway. Recently the emeralds had once more been blasted apart from each other almost as quickly as they had come together. Sonic had recently used them to go Super during yet another fight with Eggman. Seconds after he was done and had gone back to his normal state they the emeralds had blasted off like colourful rockets in every direction, rejecting each other like two positive ends of powerful magnets put together.

The other six emeralds were too far away for either of them to get any readings on without using Tails' tracking devices at the moment, but this one hadn't been too far away from Sonic's and Shadow's position at the time and it had – unsurprisingly – become a race between the two hedgehogs over who would find it first. Shadow wanted it to enable him to use Chaos control and boost his powers in general. Sonic, on the other hand, mostly wanted it because Shadow wanted it. He loved few things as much as riling his partner up and since Eggman was still licking his wounds from their last encounter he was just itching for some action. He didn't have any particular use for it right now – though he knew Tails would love to work with it, giving it to him was his goal – but his main reason was still to annoy his black companion. Nothing like a little bit of friendly competition, right?

And so it was that as Sonic once more took up the chase while Shadow paid him little attention, focused on the emerald's presence rather than the blue hedgehog's. So far, both of them had mainly relied on their own respective Chaos readings – Shadow going in an almost straight line, homing in, while Sonic had moved in wide circles, following his gut feeling more than anything.

It was a bit of a pride thing too, of course – Sonic wouldn't dream of asking Shadow for directions, even if he would (reluctantly) admit that Shadow was better at finding the emeralds. Instead, he had gone with his instinct for the emerald's location, coupled with increasing his speed and fervour, searching as many areas as possible in the shortest amount of time he could muster.

Sneaking a glance at the dark hedgehog, Sonic noticed Shadow going faster as well now, his focus clear as his eyes shined brightly and his ears were perked forward – about half a mile ahead of them was a small clearing of sorts among the great trees. Dapples of sunlight through the branches lit the area almost like a theatre stage. The ground was covered by soft green grass, moss-covered stones of granite and quartz of all sizes glittering faintly in the light. Most noticeable of all, though, was a huge tree. Or what remained of it, anyway. It had once been a great thriving pine, surely hundreds of years old. Its wide branches must have covered a great portion of the sky around it – perhaps what had kept other trees from growing below it, the area more reminiscent of a field than a forest. The tree was, however, in a very poor state of health now. Its pale stem had been pecked and eaten at by bugs and birds of all kinds. Many branches had withered and fallen off and the tree appeared to be at least partly hollow as well, a small opening at their waist height showing nothing but darkness inside. It was still alive, but only barely, a shell of its former majesty. The reason for this stood clear to both hedgehogs – the scorched top and splintered wood still visible in heaps on the ground the tell-tale sign of a hit by lightning.

Now so close to its presence, both hedgehogs instantly realized the location of the emerald. Shadow in particular could feel its pulsing energy in consistent waves and even Sonic felt his ears perk up at the energy around him, almost tangible in the air. It must be inside the tree. How it had gotten there, they had no idea. Either it had been dragged there by some animal, or perhaps there was another opening into the stem higher up that it had fallen through. Quite a resting place for a Chaos emerald, indeed.

With a whoop, Sonic raced ahead. Shadow would have none of that however and poured on speed as well, but unfortunately his blue counterpart's quicker reflexes gave him the upper edge in this instance. Before Shadow had even reached the tree, Sonic had already gone after the emerald. The hole in the side of the stem was just large enough for him to squeeze his head, neck and one arm through. One would think maybe, just maybe, he should have considered what he was effectively doing by pushing himself into such a small hole. Then again, "thinking ahead" was not a quality Sonic was famous for. Though Shadow couldn't see it, the blue hedgehog already sported a winning grin on his face, certain of his victory. He got it first, Shadow's superior Chaos readings and all! Oh, how he would rub this in his face!

To his annoyance, however, Sonic couldn't reach the emerald, though he could clearly see it – just out of his hand's reach, its faint red glow causing a rather eerie atmosphere inside the tree. The hole into the tree was in fact was quite roomy on the inside, he would probably have been able to stand in there had the opening into the tree been larger, and it continued high above him, though it narrowed gradually towards the highest point. The emerald was securely lodged at a particularly thin portion of the wooden tunnel above, out of his reach. Most likely, it had fallen into the tree from above when the emeralds were spread across the planet.

Sonic tried to press himself deeper into the opening, but there was no way he'd be able to squeeze in any further, the opening simply too small, even if the inside was roomier. They'd have to find another way to reach the emerald.

He didn't want to damage the tree further – it was in a sorry state enough as it was and he never hurt living beings, of any kind, if he could avoid it. He knew what Shadow's suggestion would be – blast the tree away – but he considered their other options. Maybe he could simply find a stick, go back in and poke the emerald so it fell down. Yeah, that should do the trick.

Hearing the soft steps of jet skates on grass behind him, he was about to voice his suggestion as he pulled himself out of the hole. Or tried to, rather.

He couldn't quite get out. No biggie, right? Just pull harder. He pushed his feet deep into the ground and heaved.

Sonic couldn't see it himself, of course, but he could feel his quills embed themselves deeper and deeper into the wood the more he pushed. With their aerodynamic shape the sharp spines had followed him well enough into the hole, but now that he was pulling backwards instead, the tips caught in everything around them. They spread out to the sides on either side of the hole, effectively blocking any chance of escape. His unfortunate position, leaning over, one arm stuck in the hole along with his head, made moving harder than usual as well. Unable to get any speed or even to curl up, he couldn't even spin dash his way out. Now what?

Shadow crossed his arms and shifted his weight as he came to a stop, eyeing the hedgehog before him. Or his backside, anyway, bent over with his front half inside the tree. Arguably not the worst position to see your lover in, but he was still annoyed at Sonic for getting to the emerald first.

"Did you get it?" Grumbling, glaring at nothing in particular.

"No… but I see it…Can't reach it, though."

Sonic's voice sounded muffled through the thick wood. And uncertain. Shadow raised an eye ridge.

"So are you coming out?"

Sonic pulled once more, harder than before. He noted with some alarm that he felt even more stuck this time around, now unable to go forward as well as back. His quills had burrowed themselves even deeper into the tree at this point.

"Err…"

He felt around the hole with his hand still inside the tree, though it was hard at such an awkward angle. Yep. Quills were deeply embedded in the thick stem now. For being a half-dead tree, its wooden insides suddenly seemed incredibly thick around him.

Sonic had never considered himself a claustrophobic, but even so he was beginning to get kind of nervous. This was… not a good position to be caught in. For many reasons, at that. He certainly didn't want to meet Eggman stuck like this, but he didn't much fancy his friends – never mind his lover – seen him caught in such an unfortunate position either, for that matter. In fact, he was more worried about Shadow than the mad scientist right now.

"Shadow?" He hesitated before continuing.

"Yes, faker?"

At this point, Shadow was very much wondering what Sonic was playing at. He took a slow step forward, eyeing the bent back curiously. A short blue tail held in a straight line, quivering ever so little, told him its owner was completely tensed up. Why hadn't he come out yet?

"I think I'm stuck."

Shadow suddenly knew it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Look, it's not that difficult. One well aimed Chaos spear should do the trick…"

"No way! Either the tree's gonna fall on top of us, or you're going to impale me. Your aim is _not_ that precise!"

Shadow bristled at the insult. His aim was _perfect_, thank you very much! It wasn't his fault that Chaos energy was, by default, rather… well, chaotic. He could bend it to his will, true, but its very nature meant there was always a certain margin of error, however slight. But that wasn't his problem! Still, he supposed Sonic had a point. Blasting the tree to bits may not have been the best course of action after all…

"Well, any other suggestions?" Sonic sighed, his voice still sounding muffled and far away through the tree. The forlorn tone didn't help him appear any less miserable.

It spoke volumes of their relationship that the black hedgehog hadn't kicked the blue one's butt for getting himself caught up in this mess to begin with, which would have been the result of this escapade had it happened to anyone else. In fact, if he had looked annoyed before, now his eyes shone with a kind of dark joy, mouth moving into a calculating smirk.

"Well… Actually, while standing like that, you're really in a perfect position for me to…"

He didn't get to finish that sentence as a blue leg lashed out viciously, Shadow very barely jumping away before receiving a kick from a very, very peeved blue hedgehog.

* * *

In the end, it turned out that no amount of pulling, pushing or cursing got Sonic out of the hole. Blue spines simply refused to cooperate, much to their owner's chagrin. Reluctantly, Sonic had eventually ordered Shadow to take off to find Tails, hoping the fox could saw the hole bigger or something. Tails was still at the landing area where they'd taken down the Tornado - there was not enough room in the forest to land nearer to the emerald - probably washing the plane off or making adjustments to its controls as he was wont to do whenever he had a bit of spare time.

It was perhaps one of his most frustrating moments in a long, long time while he waited for them to come back. He shifted his weight restlessly as he tried to listen for any sounds of danger around him. He couldn't hear much inside the tree, though, and he felt very vulnerable. He and Shadow weren't been the only ones after the emeralds, after all. Eggman could arrive at any moment; he was always on the lookout for them… And there were others, too. Rouge of course, bounty hunters of all kinds really, probably various humans who wanted to see the Pretty Rocks in person… And then of course there were the feral predators, probably swarming in a forest as remote as this one. What's to say a pack of wolves or a hungry bear wouldn't say yes to a serving of helpless hedgehog? Under any other circumstance he'd outrun any such threat without breaking a sweat, but right now…

Feeling his heart beat faster while his brain produced image after image of him attacked by a plethora of enemies of all kinds, Sonic almost jumped out of his skin when suddenly someone grabbed his tail and pulled it hard.

"YAH!"

The smirk was so strong he could feel it through the tree, even if he couldn't see it. Lost in his worried thoughts and almost locked out from the world around him, Sonic hadn't noticed that Shadow had come back, sneakily stalking up to him the last distance before grabbing the unsuspecting appendage.

"Just a little bit of payback" the dark voice purred behind him. Sonic scoffed in reply, readying another kick. Just in case.

Behind Shadow, a somewhat rumpled-looking fox who was not only younger than either of the hedgehogs but arguably also a whole lot mature, rolled his eyes. He carried his trusted toolbox with him, barely giving Sonic a glance as he put it on the ground. Tails had been busy cleaning up the Tornado when the black hedgehog had appeared seemingly out of nowhere at top speed, unceremoniously grabbing him in one hand and the toolbox in the other before taking off again. He hadn't even had a chance to complain or ask what was going on, but Tails of course was quite used to similar antics from his big brother anyway and so had gone with the flow.

In all honesty, Tails still found Shadow to be rather foreboding and, well, dangerous. He wasn't a person he'd ever hang around with under normal circumstances, but he had noticed that Sonic seemed to be completely enthralled with him. He knew his big brother's competitive side and had at first thought it was simply that – Sonic enjoyed having someone to measure himself with, someone to compete with and to test his limits. He had noticed over time that there seemed to be something more to it at this point, thought he didn't know how far it stretched yet. Sonic and Shadow rarely saw each other in public, but he had his suspicions at least some of Sonic's unannounced day trips were spent around the black hedgehog... Racing or brawling or whatever they were doing.

Still, this was no time to ponder Sonic's choice of friends (or whatever Shadow was to him). Shadow had barely given the fox in his grip a glance, but he had summed up the situation well enough as they sped through the forest; "Sonic's stuck in a tree, you need to get him out". That had technically been all the fox had needed, anyway. Not like he hadn't seen Sonic do worse things than get stuck in trees over the years, so he wasn't that worried about the hedgehog's predicament.

Tails walked up to Sonic and patted the tree, noting the hollow sound it made. He turned his head up and gave a low whistle at the remains of the majestic branches up above him. Must have been a fantastic tree when it was still healthy.

"Should I even ask what you were doing?" Tails muttered, although he couldn't suppress a small smile, eyes now focused on the parts of Sonic still visible to the rest of the world. His hedgehog brother looked downright silly and he could imagine he wasn't happy about it. At all.

"What can I say, bud? There's an emerald here and I wanted it and well…" Sonic trailed off, shifting his weight again. "Can you get me out? Like, right now, preferably?"

"Sure. I think" Tails said while lifting a small saw out of the toolbox. He glanced back at the dark hedgehog. Would he dare ask Shadow for his assistance? Shadow could probably use it more effectively than he could. They'd be going at a pretty awkward angle for this to work. Shadow was currently busy smirking at the blue one, arms crossed and ears perked forward, quite pleased at the current situation. He and Sonic may have ended up as more than friends, but the spark of rivalry was very much still there, and probably (hopefully) always would be.

Swallowing at the other's expression, Tails shook his head ever so slightly. The day he asked Shadow for help would probably be the day he fled from a Chaos spear. Instead, he walked around the tree until he found a spot that would do. Carefully, he once again knocked on the wood.

"You're not right behind this portion, right?"

"No… I don't think I am…" Sonic strained his ears to pinpoint Tails' exact location.

"Well, are you or aren't you?"

"I'm not!"

Tails nodded and gripped the saw firmly. Here goes…

* * *

In the end, they got him out, of course. Tails had started to saw into a portion of the tree, close to the emerald. It was difficult to cut at such an angle, but after a while the dark hedgehog had deduced what he was doing and without much ado simply grabbed the saw out of the younger one's hands and did it himself. With his strength and endurance, the process had shortened down considerably in required time and a few minutes later Shadow had curiously peeked into the new hole in the stem. Tails had remained waiting behind him, his namesakes fidgeting a bit nervously.

At that point, the ultimate life form been met with the confused yet hopeful stare of a rather dusty looking hedgehog below him, faintly illuminated in a red glow. The small amount of sunlight that could reach into the hole had him blinking, bright eyes temporarily accustomed to the darkness. Sonic had given him a doubtful smile and had they'd still been standing at the other side of the tree, they would have seen a hesitant wag of a blue tail – a rare sight indeed. He was pleased to see his companion again, his body betraying his emotions, in particular a faint blush still on his cheeks, the result of Shadow's earlier remark about his… position.

Shadow had been more focused on the emerald, though. Giving his partner an evil smirk, he grabbed the emerald with his hand, ignoring the annoyed "hey!" and adding insult to injury by holding it out just in front of Sonic's face for a moment, enjoying his upper hand. Shortly after that, he'd turned on the spot, grabbed the fox, Chaos controlled him back to the plane (Tails very barely able to suppress a terrified yelp of his own as this all took place) before controlling back once more. Now he and Sonic were alone. Again.

"You know, you can release me any second now."

Sonic wasn't stupid. He knew Shadow could simply grab his leg or whatever and Chaos control him away now. He wasn't sure why he hadn't done so already. But when he felt a gloved hand suddenly touching the side of his hip, he could suddenly imagine.

Sonic gulped. He had been right, it turned out. He'd known as much, of course. Eggman finding him stuck like this wasn't _nearly _as dangerous as being incapacitated around Shadow. He'd get him good for this… Later. Right now, he was far more focused on the two skilled hands working their way down his sides.

"Time to get you out later. Right now, I was thinking I deserve a reward for finding the emerald first, hm?"

It was going to be a long day indeed.

* * *

Well, there you have the first chapter/short/thing! I'm starting to notice a pattern with my stories, all of them appear to be about Sonic becoming the butt of some stupid joke or another lol. I'll have to come up with one where it's Shadow who gets the short end of the stick, I suppose… I have a couple of ideas for new shorts, we'll see when I've time to try to get them written down!


	2. First to find out

Second installment!  
Of course, people would find out sooner or later about Sonic and Shadow. To me, it just kind of feels natural that it would be Rouge (or possibly Tails, but I would think he'd be too innocent to see the first signs… which is certainly more than could be said for Rouge). She's smart, she's experienced (if you catch my drift…) and she works with Shadow, she would get suspicious quickly I think…  
While talking about a certain white bat, maybe I've just missed it, but it seems to me there isn't a whole lot of fanfics with any real interaction about Sonic and Rouge, is there? I find them fun to combine, they are such completely different type of characters, it creates an interesting dynamic!

**Short 2: First to find out**

Sonic was standing trapped in a corner, quills raised in alarm pressed against the wall, a confused and rather worried look on his face. His breath was slightly laboured and he swallowed carefully, considering his next course of action. This wasn't what he'd planned for the night at all!

It wasn't the first time he was in that position, actually, but the other times it had happened, it had been… well, maybe not planned as such. But certainly foreseen as a possibility down the road. It wasn't that shocking that their constant power struggle – what initially drew him and Shadow together – had continued once their relationship moved to a new level, and it still often ended with one of them pressed against a wall or otherwise at a disadvantage, whenever the other had managed to get the upper hand.

A new level indeed. The relationship was still a bit new to them, but they were adapting quickly and having a great deal of fun learning. The rivalry had, in their opinions gotten quite a bit more interesting when it continued in new, more lustful ways. The fight for power, now battled for in a somewhat… different way, was something that was very exciting for both of them – in all meanings of the word.

Even so, this particular forced-into-the-corner-moment was definitely _not_ foreseen by Sonic. He muttered, almost whispered actually, at the person currently holding him back.

"Rouge… what do you want?!"

The bat flashed him a winning smile, showing off sharp fangs accompanied by fluttering eyelashes.

"From you, honey?"

The bat arched her back ever so slightly, giving the blue hedgehog a better view of her ample bosom, at the same time shifting her weight just a bit, leather-clad hips swaying. She smirked at the hedgehog's reaction, ears flattering themselves as he clearly had no idea how to react to her unexpected advances. She noted with some satisfaction that, even in this state, he clearly couldn't avoid stealing a glance down her shirt after all, perhaps confirming some suspicion of hers.

Rouge had her reasons for her behavior, of course. In all honesty she hadn't paid the blue hedgehog that much attention before – or at least, not that kind of attention. She knew plenty about him, of course – GUN had collected a respectable amount of information on him and his fights against the doctor – and she considered him an acquaintance if not a friend. She saw him around now and then, on missions as well as parties and the likes held by their mutual friends, and while they never hung out alone, they would at least sometimes speak with each other, though she was more familiar with Shadow by far. She thought of him as being a friendly guy, if rather scatterbrained at times, but she hadn't paid him more interest than that.

For one thing, despite their occasional times together, Rouge had never put her infamous moves on Sonic. She'd never had a reason to, really. He didn't have anything she wanted that she could charm off him, and as far as he was concerned, he was far too immature – not to mention hyperactive – to be of any use to her in… other ways. She preferred her men more stable. Not to mention, preferably red with a white crescent across the chest. Not that she'd admit as much to anyone, but still.

As it were however, she suddenly _did_ have use of Sonic. For questioning, that is.

Rouge was not stupid. Her guise as a temptress wasn't just a ruse (she looked _good_ and she knew it, so why not use it?) but many made the mistake of thinking that her looks was all she had. This was a bat with a sharp mind to match her body. She'd learnt to use her talents together and her skills as a spy as well as an interrogator were infamous in her trade. She could charm the fur off virtually anyone.

She had actually expected that Sonic would prove a challenge to break. She knew he pretty much had to fight off fangirls with a bat whenever he moved in public and she had supposed that he would have used his popularity to get himself some fun. Chaos knows she would have, had she been in his position. There must have been throngs of willing girls, not even counting Amy, all just waiting from the right word from him.

As a result, when Rouge had just barely put her first moves on him, just to test the waters, only to be met with a hedgehog who suddenly did not look all that cocky any more but only very, very nervous, she had almost burst out laughing. Sonic's reactions instantly told her that she was not dealing with an experienced man after all, but rather an uncertain, inexperienced boy. A hero through and through – evidently he hadn't used his fame to his advantage after all. And why not? She had her suspicious when she began this, and now she was even more certain.

"Yeah… what are you doing?!"

His reply to her earlier words put her attention back to the job at hand. She shook her head amusedly, not replying but letting her eyes roam suggestively over his body. Truly, the blue hedgehog wasn't ill-made. He was lean, yet strong and athletic. And then there was of course his infamous ego and confidence that let him walk proudly through life, head held high and shoulders squared in challenge to anyone up to it. A prime specimen, not a bad sight at all. Too bad he was such a clown.

"All I want from you, Sonic, are some answers…"

"Answers?" His eyes shifted uneasily. What was she playing at? Surely she couldn't have deduced…

"Yes, Big Blue. Answers. For starters, you can tell me what you're doing here?"

Rouge let her eyes leave the hedgehog and instead threw a quick glance around them. As it were, they were standing in Shadow's apartment. In the living room, to be more exact. Surely the blue hedgehog had no reason to be there? He and Shadow were rivals, at best uncertain friends, who only met on chance, usually to brawl or show off to each other. Right?

Rouge had first started to suspect things the morning Shadow had walked into GUN's office with a smile on his face. True, it was a very small one, but it was still completely unheard of to see Shadow starting working wearing anything less than a frown. She'd inquired about it at the time but he hadn't given her anything to work with and she'd eventually let it go as a one-time thing.

"Err… Was gonna ask him for a race?"

"Nice try, but that ain't gonna fly with me."

After some time, Rouge had noted with barely concealed amusement that Shadow had changed. He still tried to put on the tough guy act, but she knew him better than anyone and she could tell the differences. He seemed less tense and she sometimes caught him deep in thought, staring off into space with that same tiny, almost non-existent smile on his face. She'd bugged him about it until he got fed up enough to throw a Chaos spear after her. It was only a small one, intentionally with an off aim, but she took the hint and left him alone. For the moment.

Though she quickly understood the probable cause for his shifting into a slightly different mentality (with emphasis on slightly) – Shadow had, to put it bluntly, clearly gotten _laid_ – she truly had no idea at first who the responsible other might be. She couldn't remember seeing Shadow with any female, at work or during his free time. As far as she knew, he didn't really have any female friends at all. She'd even done some enquires among the female staff at their workplace, but without results.

That's when she had started to think more outside the box, looking at other options. Not to mention, taking the chance to stalk Shadow after work. He hadn't expected her to, so she had managed without any issues. She knew his manners and habits well enough that she could trail him easily through the streets without any real risk of being seen by him. Fortunately he usually didn't run at top speed to get home, preferring a lighter jog which wasn't too difficult for her to keep up with while she was flying and the wind did most of the job.

She'd chosen the day well. One particular Thursday, Shadow has seemed unusually pent up with energy, turning his eyes to the clock several times while at work. For someone who would usually perform his duties with almost robot-like precision and monotony, this was most unlike him. Rouge had easily guessed the reason – he must have something planned with his lover that night.

And so, without any further ado, she'd trailed him home once their shift ended. The plan to get rid of Shadow himself – she wanted to interrogate the offender in peace – was simple but effective. The moment Shadow had grabbed the door handle to his apartment, she had called him on her cell. Watching him from only yards away, though unseen, she told him a wonderful story, told in great hurry about how he was needed _right now, _that there was an _emergency._ Her acting had been excellent, her voice strained and quivering as if she was under great stress when she called him. Shadow had cursed and glared, looking ready to murder whoever next crossed his path, but he had had no choice but to leave again, taking off towards the co-ordinates she'd given. Which were miles and miles away, of course. She wasn't taking any chances, knowing how fast Shadow could move.

As soon as Rouge had been certain he was gone, she had sneaked into his apartment (lock picking being one of her trades making that portion of the job easy enough) and hidden behind the couch in his living room. If her suspicions were correct, she wouldn't be alone for long. And indeed, only some minutes later she'd heard knocking on the door, first hesitant, then more urgent when the door didn't open. Followed by a voice.

"Shadow? Are you there?"

Not just anyone's voice. Sonic's.

At first, Rouge wondered if she'd gotten it all wrong. Then she thought back and instead almost broke out into a laugh. She never would have suspected that blue hedgehog… but it fit, didn't it? They did seem to run into each other an awful lot lately, though she'd always put it down to some sort of stupid rivalry thing. Clearly, things had escalated to something more than that… She hadn't ever thought of Sonic as swinging that way. Nor Shadow, but then again it was hard to imagine Shadow being intimate with anyone to begin with, given his cold exterior. He was one of the few people who seemed immune to her flirting. Perhaps less unexpectedly, all things considered now…

That got her curious. Would Sonic be as impervious to her advances as Shadow was? She had to find out. And would get some answers, while at it.

Sonic had tried the door, and since it was still unlocked after Rouge's work on it, he had stepped inside, closing it carefully behind him, still calling out for the other hedgehog. He sounded more and more confused, muttering something to himself about how he was certain this was the time they'd decided. It was difficult sometimes to find a time and day that would work for both of them. The random encounters had been enough at first, but these days they wanted a little more. Had he gotten his hopes up in vain, had Shadow forgotten?

That had been the moment when suddenly he found himself facing not the expected black hedgehog, but rather a _very_ unexpected white bat suddenly pressing herself against him almost as soon as he stepped into the living room. Rouge was in full flirt-mode and needed only seconds to make a very confused Sonic back helplessly into the nearest corner. She hadn't been able to resist the slightest of snickers at his evident insecurity. Not at all what she would have expected when she almost instinctively started this. Given how nervous he appeared, she wondered how he would even get the idea to romp with Shadow in the first place. She couldn't exactly imagine Shadow as the gentlest of lovers…

"Well, okay… Then how about we had a brawl booked in today?"

"I'm sure you had _something _booked today, but it wasn't a brawl, was it sweetie?"

"I… I've no idea what you're talking about, Rouge!"

Rouge let a slender, feminine hand slide down to his collar bone, gently touching soft peach fur. Sonic barely concealed a gasp and instead firmly grabbed her hand in his own, resolutely moving it away.

"I have to admit, I'm curious. Who of you would even have gotten the idea to start this? I _never_ would have guess it was _you_ he's daydreaming about while at work!"

"He… he daydreams about me?" Sonic couldn't believe his ears. Though it did leave a nice fuzzy feeling in his stomach… and a stupid smile on his face. Then he realized he'd just given a little too much information away with that response. He changed his tone and tried to mask any emotion from showing on his features.

"I mean… whywould Shadow daydream about _me_ of all people? It's surely someone else!" False bravado in his voice. Rouge wasn't fooled. She took a step back, giving him some leeway. Didn't want him to suddenly run off. He looked like he was considering it. If she relented a little, he'd hopefully stay a bit longer.

"Does anyone else know yet?" If the spiked duo didn't want others to know, she had just been given quite the treat to use at her will… She didn't know just what to aim for yet, but she was certain she could think of something they could use to buy her silence. Did either of them currently have access to any Chaos emeralds by any chance?

"Know what?" A last ditch attempt. Rouge just quirked an eyebrow at him, and Sonic seemed to finally give up.

"No… No one knows…. But I don't care if they find out! I'm going to tell them, just… just still thinking of a way to … er… word it nicely?"

Sonic was in particular thinking of a certain pink hedgehog. He truly had no idea how she'd react when she found out. He was less concerned about Tails. Most of his other friends, he didn't really know how they'd react when they found out, but he knew them well enough to hope that most would be supportive. He just wasn't ready to tell them yet, that was all… The hordes of fangirls? Them he tried not to think about… Though he had a sort of sinking suspicion some of them would only get even more obsessed with him when they found out about his relationship with Shadow.

Rouge sighed and rolled her eyes again. So much for that. She supposed she could still have tried something to get him to buy her silence or face the risk of Rouge telling Amy about their relationship, but she had a feeling she'd want to be far, far away when the younger pink hedgehog found out… and she was quite sure she didn't want to be the one bearing _that _piece of news, either.

Sonic scratched the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at the bat. Now that she had backed away a little, he wasn't feeling quite so lost any more, but he still didn't really appreciate the direction this had gone in.

"Look we… things just happened, okay? But I'm glad they did." He couldn't resist a smile again, thinking back to their last time together. Truthfully, they still fought as much as they shared tender moments, but it was in good fun and honestly just part of who they were. It had been fun to keep it secret, too. Not that he had any real reason to, he guessed. He just wasn't sure how to best tell everyone and there hadn't really been any good opportunities to do so. Besides, it had been kind of fun to keep it stealthy and meet in secret and all that. Though he guessed there'd be none of that now that Rouge knew. Sonic was pretty certain she was going to use the information to her advantage. He looked at her again as she smiled at him, looking a combination of amused and… understanding?

"That's cute. You don't really seem to have the same type of personality at all… but I guess it's how they say… opposites attract, ne?"

Sonic grinned at that.

"I guess they do, Rouge…"

Crossing her arms, Rouge offered what was perhaps the first genuinely friendly smile she'd put on all day. She had learnt as much as she needed. It was time for her to go back home and dwell over what she'd learnt. Perhaps she could think of some way yet to use this to buy some power over Shadow… Having the upper edge over him could always come in handy.

It was of course at that exact time that the door once more opened, this time with rather more force than the previous times of the night, showing a very annoyed, panting black hedgehog covered in mud from head to toe stepping in. His glare intensified when he caught sight of the bat. Cause of the delay for his anticipated meeting of the night. It was not a good spot for her to be in.

"YOU!" he bellowed, eyes livid and hand crackling ever so slightly, hinting at the chaos energy currently being stored in his body and ready to be used. He was _not _in a good mood, that much was plain.

Rouge blinked at him, her smile suddenly a lot more uncertain. Maybe sending Shadow out to the middle of the biggest swamp in this zone hadn't been the best idea after all…

Sonic, to his credit, was evidently trying to calm his partner down, though unfortunately not without much success...

"Shadow, er… remember that talk we had about how you want to _save_ the people of the planet now?"

* * *

In a twist of fate, the night ended quite differently than any of them had imagined it would, namely in the form of a rather terrified bat flying off as quickly as she could, a chaos energy-spewing black hedgehog at her heels, who in return was being followed by a blue hedgehog trying his best to calm him down.

Rouge had been the first who found out about their relationship, but in her opinion, the price of finding out had been rather high. Still, she was certain Shadow would get over her little… move. Eventually. Hopefully before they both had to turn up for work tomorrow.

"Sonic!" she called, dodging another chaos spear, readying herself to fly higher into the air and hopefully get far enough away to avoid any further potential attacks.

"Yeah?" he called back, still tugging Shadow's arm, though without much success.

"Work him over well tonight, so he doesn't have the energy tomorrow to continue this!"

"Errr… okay!" Blushing fiercely, Sonic finally managed to stop Shadow with a harsh tug. They watched together as she flew off. Shadow turned to Sonic, his gaze somewhat softer now.

"What did she want, anyway?" he sighed, apparently calming down now that the bat was out of sight.

"Nothing much. Pretty much just wanted to tell me that you _daydream_ about me. That's just _adorable!" _Now that they were alone again, he immediately felt more at ease and was gradually going back into his usual confident state. This was more familiar terrain... and nothing like a taunt to get him started. He grinned at Shadow who could only glare at him in response, already thinking of evil, evil ways to take his revenge on the bat for interrupting their time together the next time they met. Still, a hedgehog had to set priorities, and a remark like that couldn't go unnoticed.

"Did you just say adorable? You realize of course that I have to kill you for saying that, right?"

He wasn't serious, of course. Sonic knew as much, though he couldn't resist the challenge present in those words.

"First back to the apartment?"

"You're on."

Red sneakers and blazing jet skates took off together, and soon the area was empty again. Save for a bat, hidden in the branches of a nearby tree. Rouge couldn't resist a smile as she considered the two. They were indeed an unlikely couple, but they seemed to be a fitting one indeed.


	3. Dreams

It was dark and still, a clear sky pelted with blinking stars above them. There was no wind, though temperatures had dropped enough to be just a little uncomfortable for most humans not warmly dressed, though this was of little concern to those blessed with a fur pelt. Autumn was on its way and the last remaining flowers and buzzing insects couldn't quite hide the gradual yellowing of the trees' leaves.

On top of a roof, at ease and comfortable, Sonic and Shadow were resting together. The day had been quite rough, lots of running and fighting – in particular for Sonic, who had recently thrashed one of Eggman's latest inventions. As a result, he was for once patient enough to remain in one place, sore muscles getting some well-deserved rest. After some nagging, he had managed to drag the darker one along with him, and as little as he wished to admit it, Shadow did enjoy the quiet moment as much as Sonic did. Even if he remained sitting rather than being draped over the roof like an old fur blanket, like Sonic's current position. He had standards, after all.

They had been quiet for some time, both of them lost in their own thoughts, until Sonic suddenly spoke up.

"Did you ever have any dreams up on that space colony… I mean, about what you wanted to do in the future? When you were done up there?"

Shadow thought for a moment, brushing a bit of dust of a red-striped arm and straightening a glove.

"Not really… I did what they told me to do. That was enough."

Sonic had been staring up at the night sky, on his back with his arms crossed between his head. He painted a rare picture of being fully relaxed and at ease, ears and quills drooping slightly and a faint smile on his face. On Shadow's words, however, he turned his gaze to the black hedgehog sitting next to him and blue ears perked up again as he frowned slightly.

"Really? Didn't you and Maria discuss what you wanted to do when she… got better?"

Shadow barely suppressed a wince at the words. Maria was still, after all this time, a sore topic. After another moment of thinking, he answered.

"Well… Maria had many plans. I didn't… I didn't mind what we'd end up doing, as long as I was with her."

Sonic wisely chose not to pursue that any further. He could tell by the subtle clenching of a gloved fist that this was something Shadow was still unwilling to talk about. He felt kind of privileged, actually, that he'd gotten this far after mentioning her name. He expected most other people daring to talk about Maria as freely as that would have received a solid punch to the jaw. Hoping to lighten the mood a little, he pointed a finger to his own chest.

"Me, I wanted to a rock star!"

At this, it was Shadow's time to turn to the other, a look of surprise on his face.

"What… You, a rock star?"

"Well, why not?" Sonic grinned back at him. "I have the looks, the moves, the voice…"

"You sing?" Shadow couldn't quite mask the amusement and surprise in his voice. That was not something he'd expect. A faint smile tugged at his lips at the thought of his blue counterpart striking up a chord.

"Of course! You don't believe me?!" Sonic replied in mock hurt. His smile grew into a full-fledged grin. "I sing quite well, actually!"

He scratched behind an ear and shook his head slightly before continuing.

"It was me, Max, Mach, Sharps and Vector…"

"Vector was in a band? With you?" Shadow shook his head. That was just… weird. Sonic had got to be making this up. He couldn't imagine that Sonic and the crocodile knew each other that well, never mind were ever in a band together.

"Yep! Well, this was a long time ago of course, back when we were all in middle school. We fought over who would be the singer, me or Sharps… I ended up the winner. Obviously! Those were the days… We used to practice in Max' parents' garage until the neighbours would yell at us to go home…"

"What happened?" Despite himself, Shadow was now watching his blue counterpart with evident interest. This was a side of his partner he'd never seen before. He had no idea Sonic could sing. Of course, he knew that Sonic made things up as often as he told the truth (or rather, would bend the truth as far as he could without making outright lies) so he wasn't holding his breath for anything spectacular. Half of him was ready to call Sonic's bluff at any time.

"Well, Eggman happened. Kinda put a stop to all that when I had to run off and fight him…" Sonic shifted his weight, a sigh escaping his throat. "I don't regret this life, but I do wonder sometimes what it could have turned out like if Eggman never pulled off any of his stupid stunts and we'd gone on and continued with the band and gotten gigs and all that. Who knows, I could have been a world famous rock star by now!"

"So? You're already world famous, hedgehog."

"True…" Sonic beamed up at the dark hedgehog sitting next to him. "I guess no matter what path I would have chosen, I'd end up this awesome!"

A statement that stupid didn't even deserve a reply. Shadow just ignored him, staring ahead again, face resting on his drawn up knees. He was beginning to grow restless just sitting here.

"Of course, you know Vector ended up working with music in some way or another anyway, in his free time at least. The others, I don't really know… I've not seen any of them for years. I hope they're doing okay."

Sonic too had turned his gaze forward again, though he was still smiling faintly.

"Sonic?"

Shadow sounded very hesitant. Guarded. But there was also a note of determination in his voice.

"Hm?" The blue hedgehog, on his part, was once again relaxed and content, mind on nothing in particular.

"Sing something for me." As usual, Shadow voiced his request not as a question, but as a demand. There was still that trace of amusement in it, however, and when Sonic turned his head in surprise to meet his eyes, he realized Shadow had been staring intently right at him. Than it itself was unusual and he almost faltered for a second, mouth slightly open, before falling back into his trademark grin. In one fluid motion he sat up, stretched and shifted his pose so he was turned more directly to Shadow.

As usual, he didn't need much egging on to get going. Sonic cleared his throat theatrically before taking a deep breath and starting to sing. He hadn't needed much time to think of a suitable song, mind working fast as always. One in particular stood out to him as a suitable choice.

"_Baby, here we are,  
Standing face to face, just the two of us, locked in your embrace  
Now I got it bad, but you got something good  
Won't you treat me good in every way, yeah"_

Shadow stared in disbelief. Sonic sang clearly into the night, his voice slightly out of practice but still carrying the notes clearly and confidently. He was looking at Shadow all the while, a picture of easy enjoyment. Shadow could tell he was having a good time expressing himself like this and noted he sounded more and more confident with every line he sang.

"_Are you ready, I can feel your passion and your love, it overflows  
I will give to you the love you seek and more, so what are you waiting for  
I will give to you the love you seek and more…"_

Not certain how much Shadow wanted to hear, Sonic let his voice trail off, ending his little show with a sketched sitting bow towards the black hedgehog. Shadow was staring at him, mouth slightly agape at the sight of his lover singing to – for – him, voice full of feeling and the love radiating off him, not just for his dark lover but for using his voice like this. It had been way too long since he got the chance to express himself like this…

"Well, what do you think?" Sonic grinned at the other one, crossing his arms, trying to conceal his amusement at Shadow's current look. It wasn't often he got the chance to see Shadow struck dumb so he was enjoying the moment to its fullest.

Shadow did not often step as low as to _praise_ someone, but he had to hand it to Sonic. For all his bragging and gloating, for all his oversized ego, he had to admit… Sonic _did _have a good voice. It was pretty clear he had experience singing, after all, so he supposed he hadn't been lying about his past of being in a band after all. What really set him off was the passion in his voice, though, coupled with his apparent enjoyment. He was starting to have to keep himself in check to avoid jumping him right then and there…

"That was… good." Shadow nodded at him.

"Just good? Come on, you know it was pure awesome! Wanna hear another?" Sonic's eyes shone with sudden inspiration. Had he been more focused, Shadow would have noted the certain gleam in them that always, without exception, meant trouble.

"Fine."

"Okay! This one, faker, is one hundred percent dedicated to you!"

Another deep breath and Sonic started on his next set of lyrics. This time he seemed determined to sing louder yet, even standing up to get the most out of his lungs as he began.

"_Oh my word this tune is ANNOYING!  
Yes I know, it's really ANNOYING!  
I can't get this song OUT OF MY HEAD!  
Make it stop, this tune is ANNOY…"_

To drive the point home, Sonic was almost yelling as he sang, the words this time not nearly as true. To top it off, he was doing some sort of dance as well, flailing his arms and jumping on the spot.

Shadow stared in disbelief, before cursing at the blue hedgehog who was certain to disrupt the peace of everyone in the house below them. He thought he could already sense someone moving down there, surely woken up by Sonic's stupid trick.

Hissing, he grabbed Sonic's arm to quiet him down. Sonic fortunately complied, turning his head slightly to the side as he heard someone moving about in the house, wincing slightly as the lights were turned on. He hadn't quite considered that there were people sleeping below…

"Idiot! Now we have to get out of here!" Shadow whispered fiercly at him. Sonic just smiled stupidly in return but kept up with him as they jumped down and took off into the streets below them. He was still humming to himself as they blazed off, not intending to stop his singing any time soon.

"_I can't get this song out of my head, make it stop this tune is annoying, I gotta go to work in the morning, now I'm gonna be humming it in my beeed…"_

* * *

Author's note: Woo, 100 % fluff with no action or meaning whatsoever, yeah baby! Oh well. I had to look around for quite a while for a suitable song for Sonic. Wanted something that wasn't super corny and might fit his personality and all that…

By the by, I didn't make up the rock band bit, not exactly... Look up Sonic's band in the Sonic Wikia thing. It was one of the early ideas they had for his character, that he was in a rock band with a few characters including an early concept Vector. And then of course you have Sonic Underground, while I don't think I'll ever include that series in my fanfiction works I suppose you could say Sonic being involved in music here is a slight nod to that.

The first song Sonic sings is part of the lyrics from Tim Berg's Seek Bromance, Avicii vocal edit (excellent song, look it up!).

The second one (heh) is Annoying Song from Weebl…

Hope you enjoyed this short (with emphasis on _short…_), at any rate. I'm currently trying to decide how Sonic is going to tell Tails about him and Shadow, I think that needs to be the next chapter. We'll see :P


	4. Busted

Author's note: Thanks for all the support and kind words! Not the longest chapter this time, but getting a needed portion out of the way. I know I said these were meant to be independent shorts and I don't really have a_ real_ plan for where to take this, but there does seem to be some order to it after all…

* * *

Tails was a very special young fox, for sure. Not only was he bright and intelligent, he was also among the kindest of people one could hope to ever meet. He was open-minded and curious, he was patient and mature. Perhaps living with someone so reckless and wild had brought out these sides in him – providing stability to the overactive hedgehog that had spent the last years raising him.

In short, Tails was willing to put up with a _lot_. Still, even he had his limits.

Like right now.

He had been busy all day, paying the city one of his bi-monthly visits to get him and Sonic everything they would need in the upcoming weeks – food and other day-to-day items, as well as (in Tails' opinion, most important of all) new components for his current technological projects. Sometimes he could convince Sonic to do these errands, normally by bribing him with a promise of a large amount of chili dogs, but usually it was Tails' who ended up carrying out this domestic task. Sonic_ really_ did not enjoy waiting in lines at the stores and Tails, being less well known than his brother, could slip by easier without being stalked by countless fans. Sonic's ego usually would not permit him to_ not_ show off when such chances showed themselves, meaning his trips would take even longer than Tails', despite his superior speed.

And so it was, that Tails was currently standing with his arms full of boxes with screws and bolts and whatever else he had gotten himself this time around, the food already packed away into the fridge. Content with a job well done, he had just walked into his workshop, ready to unload his new belongings and perhaps get a little bit of work in before it was time for preparing dinner. He hadn't seen Sonic around since his return, but assumed he was out for a run or similar. He would have known that Tails wouldn't be back home for hours and there wasn't really anything else going on at their home right now.

When he walked through the closed door to the workshop and took a few steps inside, mind on the plans for his newest project, Tails certainly did _not_ expect to see not just Sonic, but his arch-rival – in Tails' opinion, a rather foreboding, not to mention downright scary – certain dark-furred hedgehog. Not interlocked in battle as one might presume, though they were certainly were interlocked. Through their mouths. Kissing, to be more specific… and quite passionately too. Clearly they had been too busy to notice Tails approaching, despite their famous reflexes and heightened senses. That was rapidly changing, though as Tails took his first step inside and stopped with a surprised gasp. Not just as the hedgehogs, but at the order of the large room. Many of his gadgets were on the floor, his favourite toolbox had fallen off the table and there were bolts, screws and screw-nuts everywhere on the floor. It looked like a tornado had gone through the room – perhaps not too far from the truth actually.

Boxes stacked in his arms, most of Tails' face was mercifully hidden from the other two as he stared at them, torn between surprise, confusion and anger at the destruction. Upon his arrival through the door, both hedgehogs had looked up like deer caught in the headlights. Shadow for his part showed just the faintest hint of surprise at having been approached unaware – a rare experience for him – while Sonic had the sense for once to actually look not only very, very surprised, but was also sporting the beginnings of a blush. Definitely not a common characteristic for him either. He just stared back at Tails, blinking, though his and Shadow's arms were still around each other, both of them appearing frozen in position.

"Err… am I interrupting something?"

Truth be told, while Tails' immediate reaction was without a doubt surprise, very great surprise actually considering the past of the two rivals (and what he had thought he knew about their relations to each other), he wasn't disgusted or terrified as such. His past experiences had already taught him you never knew what to expect with his big brother and he wasn't sure if he hadn't seen him do weirder things already. It wasn't really the fact that Sonic was with another guy, either, but more the fact that it was… well, _Shadow _of all people…

For all his accepting ways however, there were as mentioned some things Tails _do not_ put up with. One of them being finding Sonic unsupervised in his workshop. That would be nothing short of a bull in a china shop. A spiky, supersonic bull that loves to see things go "boom".

"Whatever you're doing, can you please do it somewhere other than my workshop?" Tails asked carefully, trying to control his his voice as he put down the boxes beside him. He didn't get a reply, but twin sonic booms showed the message had hit home and Tails winced as the shock caused several of his precious items to get knocked over, papers flying around him and various items that has survived the previous rampage now falling down from their shelves with loud clanks. Glaring after his brother (and cursing over his inability to not damage any electronics around him) Tails gingerly began to pick everything up again. Hopefully nothing was too badly broken...

It was a couple of hours later that Sonic returned. Without Shadow. He tried to appear his normal self, but Tails wasn't deceived – he could read Sonic's every feature and he could tell the hedgehog was feeling a little uncertain still, a slightly nervous smile on his face. He looked almost… expectant? Probably gauging for his reaction to their last meeting, Tails decided. He put the utensils on the table, not paying Sonic much attention. As usual under circumstances where Sonic had gone into Sudden Hiding, it had been the smell of food that had lured him out again, which Tails of course knew fully well and he had chosen the meal accordingly.

"Hey little buddy… Trip to Station Square went fine, I take it?" Sonic sat down on his chair, eyeing the hot dogs expectantly and barely suppressing licking his lips. Chilic dogs. Awesome! Whatever nervousness had remained was quickly evaporating at the sight of his little brother looking his calm and usual self, and perhaps even more so, the steaming food in front of him.

Tails nodded in response and handed him the package of buns, which Sonic took gratefully, starting to prepare himself a hearty meal after an… intense day.

"Sure, no problems. I got everything I needed. Did you… uh, have fun while I was gone?"

Sonic just couldn't help himself. As it were, he _did_ have fun. His smile almost turned into a grin before he snuck a glance at the fox and it faltered slightly again. He and Tails had never really discussed relationships much. He was pretty certain Tails wouldn't mind him and Shadow together, but he couldn't be fully certain… He knew Tails thought Shadow was kind of, well, scary. That would probably be the main reason he may have a problem with this. Otherwise, he didn't think he'd care so much who Sonic hung out with. Although he expected he had a few questions, seeing how as far as everyone but Rouge knew, they were still just rivals…

"I did… Er… As you saw, Shadow came over for a visit…"

"I noticed" Tails replied dryly, arching an eyebrow. The knowing look in his eyes betrayed his young years and he fought to resist rolling his eyes. Hedgehogs… Tails knew from first-hand experience that there just wasn't any point in trying to foresee what a hedgehog was going to do at any given time. It was anyone's guess what went through their spiky skulls. The sanest one he had met was Amy, and that was saying something, considering her fangirlism and borderline stalker personality…

"I have to say I'm a bit curious Sonic, has this been going on for a long time or…?"

It was quiet in the kitchen for a bit while Sonic chewed on his chili dog, weighing his next words. Rather uncharacteristic for him, usually such a chatterbox. Tails could see that there was a lot on his mind, though he didn't look worried or annoyed… he looked downright pleased with himself.

"A while I guess?" Sonic mumbled carefully, eyeing the chili dog in his hand before taking another bite, appearing lost in thought still. "It… just… kinda happened" he continued after some time, looking at the fox again to gauge his reaction. His eyes were shining bright again, comfortable at his home with his friend and with food around him. Perfect end of an interesting day, even if it hadn't gone quite as planned… Tails didn't even seem to be upset about his workshop. Whew.

"Okay, just wondered" Tails said, calm as ever, him too looking rather thoughtful. Thinking back about the last times he'd seen Shadow around Sonic. Had there been signs? He couldn't remember seeing anything odd in their behaviour then. Then again, he had always suspected Sonic would probably never be in any sort of normal relationship, so maybe that's not the type of signs he should have been looking for. It just wasn't Sonic's style to act all romantic and lovestruck. Go figure he'd end with someone like Shadow… Not a bad fit in one way, Tails supposed. Shadow and Sonic did share certain qualities, like their love for speed and action and fighting over who's the strongest…

"I'm kind of surprised. Not that surprised, but still…" Tails mused, eyeing his older brother with a scrutinizing look. "Shadow is so… intimidating… Not like you at all…"

At this, Sonic's tentative smile finally grew into a full-fledged grin.

"Oh, well… We have our differences for sure but, we've found we actually have some similar tastes too…" His eyes grew more distant again as he thought back about previous encounters. He wasn't going to share any details with the younger boy, but Tails wasn't dumb and could tell by the slightest of flushes on Sonic's face that he was almost certainly thinking about what he and Shadow had been doing before Tails' interrupted them. Tails didn't really want to think too hard about that, though. Sonic and Shadow kissing was just… weird.

"Well, you know, that's all fine and dandy Sonic, but we have one thing we need to make clear if this is going to continue…" he said sternly instead, crossing his arms and flattening his ears, a very rare look from the young fox. Usually so friendly and welcoming, the young carnivore suddenly looked a lot more menacing. Had they still been feral creatures, the hedgehogs would have done good to roll into a trademark spiny ball now, the predator clearly about to attack him…

"What... what do you mean?" Sonic said, voice suddenly faltering every so slightly and blinking at his brother in surprise. This was a rare look for Tails' indeed, and not one he had expected at this point, when he had seemed so at ease previously.

He knew he could easily outrun or overpower the fox. That's not what worried him. No, it was the determination in Tails' eyes. Having dealt with Sonic for several years by now, Tails had developed a stubbornness at least as strong as that of the hedgehog, and on top of that he knew every way to manipulate his brother to get what he wanted, the way no one else did.

Tails took a deep breath.

"You know I almost always support whatever you do, and I'm there for you. I'm fine with you hanging out with… him. If that's what you want and you're happy, you have my support. But!" He stressed the last word especially, holding up a warning finger.

"But, this means we need to set a few ground rules. First off, Shadow doesn't sleep here, alright? He… scares me sometimes".

Sonic nodded. Fat chance of that happening, anyway. Shadow almost never came over to their place at any rate, preferring his own apartment or even just going out into the wilderness, ensuring them of privacy. He had been quite surprised to see him visit them today, actually.

"Second, no more escaping your household duties to run off to him, 'cause I realize now that's what you've been doing every time you've told me that you 'think someone is up to no good again' and have run to 'fight' him when I tell you it's your time to do the shopping… From now on, it's _your _job to take care of every other city trip and I won't hear any excuses!"

Sonic sighed in defeat, not even bothering to reply. Tails appeared momentarily calmer, at least, and Sonic almost relaxed again. But then Tails suddenly flared up, once more 100 % business.

"And last and most important, _stay out of my workshop_! It took me two hours to clean it up after you today! What were you even doing in there?!"

Sonic swallowed. Tails was serious and he had no doubts horrible, horrible revenge would follow if the fox ever found them in there again. Tails never broke his promises and on top of that he knew Sonic's deepest fears. In fact, there was a water hose installed in Tails' workshop, ready to be used whenever the hedgehog needed certain… persuasion. Usually to get him out of bed or to leave Tails alone when he was working on a project. Sonic had no doubt Tails would enforce this new rule if he felt it was needed...

"We didn't plan to go to your workshop, it just sort of… happened…" he said meekly.

Tails didn't really need to know how they had been racing slash fighting minutes after Shadow had unexpectedly turned up while Sonic had been watching TV, all but attacking him on the couch. A race around the ruins had ended up back at his and Tails' place again, where Sonic had gotten a kick out of escaping the dark one who growing more and more intent on catching his taunting partner around the building and then through the rooms. Sonic had finally been herded into the workshop where Shadow had been able to corner him in the enclosed space… And of course, that's when Tails had shown up.

"But you won't go there again unless I say it's okay, alright?" Tails reminded his brother, arms once more crossed on his chest. He couldn't let his brother's mind wander before he had a proper answer to this.

"No worries little bro, next time it's Shadow's turn anyway!" Sonic smirked, eyes bright and Tails rolled his eyes, knowing this was probably as far as he'd get, anyway. When Sonic wasn't focused, there was no point in talking to him. With a wave and a smile, he left the topic alone.

"You know, I'm happy you found love Sonic, I really am."

The two brothers smiled at each other, both at peace again.

* * *

Author's note: Daww. Cheesy ending for sure but now I got letting-Tails-know out of the way at least XD


End file.
